Thursday, September 30, 2010

I know I am! And right now there is a fun Fall Crop going on at Inspired to Scrap. There are challenges, prizes and lots of inspiration all weekend! So, if you haven't had a chance, hop over there and join in the fun! The challenge starts today (going on right now) and you have till Tuesday to complete and post your projects.

Did I mention the great prizes? Let me give you just a peek at the fun things Stacey has to offer.

Friday, September 24, 2010

I am so excited to announce that I am a guest designer on a new site, Inspired to Scrap. The site has kits, classes, and a fun forum and gallery. The site is practically brand new and there is a ton of talent over there. I will be guest designing in November. You should for sure check it out! Stacey has some fun tutorials and free classes going on right now.

Let's see, What else has been going on.....

I made a few projects.

You may remember that my dh had to skip his birthday this year because we had to push Ainsley's birthday sleepover to his birthday. hee hee....Well, we finally got him his own cake.

The Color Room Palette. Basic Grey Origins everything else.

Ainsley riding the mechanical bull at Phil's group picnic. She and Mackenzie must have ridden it a dozen times. So much fun.

Basic Grey Lemonade papers, Prima flowers, Pink Paislee Title

I loved this photo of my good friend Michelle's neighborhood and really wanted to scrap it. So....Well, it is on its way to her now. You may have seen this on the Ideas for Scrapbookers blog. It was one of my "mist" examples. I masked the leaf paper, the Prima felt and the title letters.

Here is Mackenzie at Phil's company picnic. The bull, the petting zoo, it really was a super fun afternoon. I used one of my good friend Heather's sketches. You should totally check out the post at Ideas for Scrapbookers. You could win a prize from Scraptastic. A super fun kit club Heather designs for.

Which was super fun to make and I just love...even tho I got all inky and misty misting the flowers and the seam binding, and I remember now why I hate naked chipboard and have binged on buying Thickers. I painted the ancient chippy blue with paint and then dunked it in the UTEE pot. One piece, I think the I, jumped out of my tweezers and stuck to my finger. Let me tell you UTEE...it burns. I like the effect tho, sparkly, jewel like letters, and the burn isn't too bad. lol I found the color palette at Color Combos Galore.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

I don't know why, but I just haven't wanted to do much of anything these past few days. Just one of those funks I guess. Not to worry tho, Ainsley picked 4 winners from the 19 comments from last weeks post. I figured since we were so close to 20, we would go ahead and count it as 20.

And who won? Well, Michelle, Cindy D, Wendy Crowe and Pammy.

Send your address to me at nkeslin@yahoo.com and I will get your goodies out to you.

What else have I been up to? How about a few cards made with some left over cuts from the Cricut.

Give a Hoot Cricut Cartridge and Cuttlebug embossing folder

SCAL and Imaginesce Stamp

Mickey and Friends Cricut Cartridge and Tim Holtz Embossing Folder.

I can't believe I just had all these piecings lying around. So, I thought I would throw together some cards.

Oh, and one quick layout of Ainsley. She can be such a goof. These photos were taken at a picnic in Mountain View.

My youngest, Ainsley is always such a joy. She always has a smile on her face and makes a new friend daily. Her math skills are improving and she is becoming almost as avid a reader as her siblings and I. She hasn't had any standardized tests yet, but I know that she is learning and growing because...well...I talk to her! lol She loves every day of her life and those around her. Whether she is at her homeschool group activities or the pool, she has a smile on her face. I am always amazed at how many parents comment about what a great kid she is. I mean, I know that, but I am biased. hee hee Add to that the fact that she loves to craft and, well.......

And Mackenzie. She is such a joy as well. She is growing way too fast. Becoming quite a young woman. She is going to start babysitting soon. She rocks in school, placing in the 95th percentile for language arts and also did very well in Math (can't remember the number). This year, 7th grade, she is taking Algebra 1. Like me, she loves to read. She doesn't like to craft, but she is very creative, having her own You Tube channel where she does animations. You can find her here. She also composes her own music and plays the piano beautifully. Mackenzie loves the ballet and has been dancing for almost 10 years. She just began her second year on pointe. She is sweet, soft spoken, loving, and caring. What more could a mom want.

Well, that is probably enough bragging on my daughters for today. But I couldn't not do it after speaking of Brighton yesterday.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Ok, well....as usual, things are crazy busy. We had our monthly appointment with our Educational Specialist. The kids are doing great in "school" and their mandatory state testing came back with them both doing very well! Horray!!! And imagine, we don't teach to the test, we don't even follow the state standards for grade level, yet remarkably, they are excelling. hmmmmm

I almost got sucked into the Provo Craft Imagine launch. Oh goodness...that machine looks so fun! I just can't imagine spending that much money on...well....anything, right now. So...sigh. I hope I don't regret it. If you purchased one, I would love to hear about it, so please share.

Not a lot of time for scrappin'. I do have one to share that will be on the Ideas For Scrapbookers blog tomorrow. The others will have to wait for reveal day.

Products from Little Yellow Bicycle: Zach's Life and AC Thickers

I still can't believe my son is 15! Eeeek, where does the time go? I am so proud of him. He just joined the Order of the Arrow (a Boy Scout Honor Society) and has become the Vice Program Chapter Chief. He is beginning work on his Eagle project and rockin' his school work! Thank goodness he doesn't need my help as his classes are now way beyond my capabilities. Calculus AP and Computer Programming C++, not to mention Spanish 2, English, and Psychology. He is one busy boy.

Don't forget about all the great sketches over at Sassy Lil' Sketches. This week there is a great card sketch

Friday, September 10, 2010

Wow! What a week! TGIF doesn't even begin to express how I feel about it being Friday! Why? Well, because this week has been brought to you by the number 15!

Yep, 15! This week my son turned 15. Ainsley completed 15 pages in her grammar book It feels as if I did 15 loads of laundry. I received 15 texts from my husband. The children fought with one another 15 times. I made 15 trips to the pool and ballet. And I think I got about 15 minutes of free time.

So, TGIF...and I am out of here to see if I can grab a bit of time before everyone gets home from their activities.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Where does the time go? Seems like it has been a non-stop whirlwind of activity here lately.

Yesterday, Tuesday, Ainsley had her Junior Grange Activity Day. I don't really know much about the Grange. I know it is a rural service community that was formed to help farmers band together to lobby. At least that is what I seem to remember reading. What I also know, is that our local Grange has become quite the hot spot for homeschoolers. Tuesday afternoons are fun activities for homeschooled kids. A chance to get out and socialize. Yesterday, it was my job to help the kids socialize by making name tags and playing a few games. With my Cricut I made these...

I found the svg file at svgcuts.com and my Sure Cuts A Lot software. We played a quick game where the children made the animal sounds to try and group themselves. And I made these....

We taped them to the children's backs and had them play a game of guess who. I cut these with a Disney Cricut cartridge. Guess who didn't come home with very many die cuts. hee hee...

With the Grange and swim practice and ballet in full swing, I haven't had much time for me and crafting (did I mention I made 5 of each of the above figures?) But, I did sneak one layout in. Easy because it was a lift of the talented Robbie from scrapbook.com.

You can see Robbie's gallery here. Pretty Pink Paislee and lots of Prima. Of course, I needed lots of Zip Dry to hold it all together.

Well, still more to do here. Tomorrow is my oldest's birthday. So hard to believe he is already 15! Eeeek.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

I hope you are having a fun, relaxing, whatever you want it to be Labor Day weekend! Me? so far, so good. Yesterday we all went out for a big breakfast, yum! And then Phil and I went to run a few errands. I managed to go to the LSS and Michaels and buy nothing but more Zip Dry! Hooray me!!!! Of course, I came home and did some online shopping tho. hee hee

Last night the boys and some of Brighton's friends went to the Green Day concert. I love Green Day, but someone had to stay home with the girls. So....movie night! We watched Babies, which is definitely a must see! Those babies are so stinkin cute. The girls and I were laughing our heads off! And then we watched The Last Song. Mackenzie and I were both crying. I am not sure Ainsley really got the emotion of it all. I guess sometimes it is good to be 9. All in all, a pretty emotional night I guess.

Well, enough of that...I have a few scrappy projects to share. The first is for an upcoming tutorial on Ideas for Scrapbookers. All about distressing! It should be super fun and hopefully informative. Look for it in about 10 days?

This is my bestie Chris and I on our girl's weekend a few weeks back. I am ready to go again! lol I used the color palette from Color Combos Galore #157 for this one. See those little doilies? They are packaging from some new Prima flowers I bought. You know, I was almost more excited to play with the packaging when it arrived than the flowers. lol.

And here is another Color Combo palette. This time #158.

I used a Pagemaps sketch for this. All about our buys lives. And let me tell you. We are busy. The girls are wanting to add guitar and drum lessons to the mix. I just don't know how we are going to fit it all in. I guess I will be living in my car. lol Wait, I already do! hee hee

Thursday, September 2, 2010

I have a post up today on Ideas for Scrapbookers on using UTEE and puff paint. I know I have done that tutorial here with you before, so I won't bother you with it today.

I did however want to share this layout with you.

I made the palm trees and surfboard on my Cricut using SCAL and a file I found at Peppermint Creative. I was near desperate for the files I wanted to cut...I just couldn't find a thing that was free. Of course, after doing everything else on this layout, which is straight...I promise....I found 2 sets of surfing paper in my stash. Sigh...well... I love these files so I am glad I bought them. Hope I find more uses for hula girls, palm trees, surfboards and hibiscus flowers. lol